RSS
  3Com Switch Picks Up The PACE By Mark Degner A ways at the forefront of technological advances, 3Com Corp. has once again displayed its dedication to offering solutions using existing and future standards. Its latest installment in the SuperStack II line of switches, the SuperStack II Switch 3000 10/100, is more than just a mouthful--it's superior in performance, capable of switching traffic as fast as you can generate it, and boasts many upgrade and management features. This new switch offers 12 autonegotiating 10/100 unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) ports and an upgrade slot that accommodates a backbone module. I ran this switch through performance tests with a Netcom SmartBits analyzer at Network Computing's lab at the University of Wisconsin, and it handled everything I threw at it with ease. This Switch Has Backbone In addition to the 12 ports on the front, this switch has a slot in the back to accommodate high-bandwidth expansion modules. Given the increasing demand for faster backbones, you will feel at ease knowing that it has room to grow. Several different modules are available for SuperStack II, enabling easy migration to Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet or ATM. Planning to use this switch in a large network? No problem! With space for 8,160 Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, it is an ideal high-performance switching solution for large networks. During testing, I discovered that the SuperStack II Switch 3000's 12 10/100 UTP ports can operate at full wire speed with no packet loss. To test the product's switching speed, I used the SmartBits analyzer with packets of various sizes. The switch successfully delivered 100 percent of the packets we sent it, regardless of the size. Additionally, each port independently detected the speed of its connection. Not Just Brawn 3Com's new switch is as manageable as it is fast. It comes with support for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and Remote Monitoring (RMON). Using 3Com's Transcend Enterprise Manager, I easily configured and managed the switch; it was as simple as drag and drop. Because users do more than just move files around, 3Com has integrated its PACE (Priority Access Control Enabled) technology into the switch. PACE is an enhancement to the Ethernet standard that prioritizes traffic and ensures smooth delivery of time-sensitive data. To take some of the load off the LAN manager, 3Com has included its SmartAgent soft ware with the switch. The software provides services such as broadcast storm control and action-on-event, which generates an SNMP alarm when certain user-selectable criteria are reached. So while you attend to other tasks, the switch attempts to correct possible network problems. Mark Degner is a network engineer at the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering. He can be reached at mdegner@cae.wisc.edu.
by Dave Molta Retrospect Network Backup 4.0: Backup for thr Mac to the Max by Robert J. Kohlhepp Jamba Jazzes Up Java-Based Web Pages by Ahmad Abualsamid Updated July 31, 1997 |
Research and Reports
FEATURED RESEARCH
State of Server Technology
FEATURED STRATEGY
The Long-Distance LAN
Register for Network Computing Pro
Find hundreds of reports featuring research from your peers, and best practices from top IT pros. Sign UpAugust 2011
Video
Most Popular
Featured Whitepapers
- Mobile BI: Actionable Intelligence for the Agile Enterprise
- Creating the Enterprise-Class Tablet Environment - by Yankee Group
- The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet's Good Bones - by BlackBerry
- Red Alert: Why Tablet Security Matters - by BlackBerry
- New Visual and Wizard-Driven Paradigms for Exploring Data and Developing Analytic Workflows
Featured Reports
BlogRoll
TechWeb Careers
-
There are a number of job listing scams naming Network Computing. For our official career postings, please see UBM TechWeb Career Opportunities.
